Couldn't sleep the other night, so got up and turned on the tube. Found a movie called "The Good Lie" with Reese Witherspoon and quickly got caught up in this movie.
The Good Lie is about a group of children who were orphaned during a Civil War in Sudan in the early 80s. The story follows three boys and a girl (a brother and sister) as they escape the rebels and make their way out of Sudan to an over-crowded refugee camp in Kenya. 10 years later, a human rights organization in the U.S. was able to bring the four young adults to America. However, the brother and sister are separated as she is taken in by a family in Boston while a church group in Kansas City finds a home for the three young men.
Reese Witherspoon plays a temporary agency staffer who has ties to the church group and tries to help the three young men find jobs and acclimate to their new world. Their life in America is filled with plenty of challenges as many of the things Americans take for granted are new, wonderful and sometimes confusing and frightening experiences for these young, displaced people. For example, their first day in the U.S., Witherspoon tells the men, "She will call them tomorrow." They thought she meant she would "call out" for them, so they sat by the window waiting to hear her to call out to them. But when she tried calling them on the phone, they were confused by the ringing box and thought it was some type of alarm. Despite the daily obstacles the men face, they slowly adapt to the American way of life and find little successes in every day life. Yet, their hearts belong in Africa and there are many things they miss and refuse to let go of, even in their new environment.
This is a story of overcoming incredible odds and trying to adapt and "fit in" in a new world. The movie is funny at times, only because of their awkwardness and yet, you want to see these young people succeed after all they've been through in Africa and in their new home. I found this movie incredibly fascinating and it will make you think twice about immigrants and how difficult it can be for them when they arrive in the U.S. I loved this movie (but then, I like just about everything Reese Witherspoon is in - except those goofy Legally Blonde movies) and give this one 8 out of 10 Sooner Schooners.
The Good Lie is about a group of children who were orphaned during a Civil War in Sudan in the early 80s. The story follows three boys and a girl (a brother and sister) as they escape the rebels and make their way out of Sudan to an over-crowded refugee camp in Kenya. 10 years later, a human rights organization in the U.S. was able to bring the four young adults to America. However, the brother and sister are separated as she is taken in by a family in Boston while a church group in Kansas City finds a home for the three young men.
Reese Witherspoon plays a temporary agency staffer who has ties to the church group and tries to help the three young men find jobs and acclimate to their new world. Their life in America is filled with plenty of challenges as many of the things Americans take for granted are new, wonderful and sometimes confusing and frightening experiences for these young, displaced people. For example, their first day in the U.S., Witherspoon tells the men, "She will call them tomorrow." They thought she meant she would "call out" for them, so they sat by the window waiting to hear her to call out to them. But when she tried calling them on the phone, they were confused by the ringing box and thought it was some type of alarm. Despite the daily obstacles the men face, they slowly adapt to the American way of life and find little successes in every day life. Yet, their hearts belong in Africa and there are many things they miss and refuse to let go of, even in their new environment.
This is a story of overcoming incredible odds and trying to adapt and "fit in" in a new world. The movie is funny at times, only because of their awkwardness and yet, you want to see these young people succeed after all they've been through in Africa and in their new home. I found this movie incredibly fascinating and it will make you think twice about immigrants and how difficult it can be for them when they arrive in the U.S. I loved this movie (but then, I like just about everything Reese Witherspoon is in - except those goofy Legally Blonde movies) and give this one 8 out of 10 Sooner Schooners.
